Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

Ram Nath Shastri, known as the "Father of Dogri" for his pivotal role in the revival and resurgence of the Dogri language, was born on 15 April 1914. In 2001, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, awarded by the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

, India's National Academy of Letters, the highest literary honour conferred by the Government of India.

Early life and career

Prof. Shastri's father, Vaid Gauri Shankar, was an

Ayurvedic Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

doctor and originally belonged to a small village Marhi in Reasi

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

of Udhampur district (now Reasi district). For better prospects, he moved to

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

. Initially, he wanted Ram Nath to adopt the same profession and instructed him to learn Sanskrit. All ancient scriptures being in Sanskrit, it would be immensely helpful as an Ayurvedic doctor. He joined Ranbir Sanskrit Pathshala at the Ranbir High School. After which, he did post graduation in Sanskrit and Prabhakar in Hindi. He started his career as a high school Sanskrit teacher for 5 years and later he became a college lecturer. In 1944, on the day of Basant Panchami, along with a few friends, he established the Dogri Sanstha. Every upcoming writer in the Dogri language would first enroll himself in the Sanstha. He also edited the Dogri literary periodical ''Nami Chetna'' of the Sanstha. In 1970, on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee Celebration of Dogri Sanstha, he edited the RAJAT JAYANTI GRANTH in which research oriented articles on Dogra life, art, culture, literature and history were put together. In 1970, he retired as a professor in the J&K State Education Department. From 1970 to 1975 he has been a Senior Fellow of Dogri in the

University of Jammu The University of Jammu informally known as Jammu University (JU), accredited as A++ grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), was established in 1969 by an act of the state legislature which effectively split the Jammu and ...

. From 1977 to 1985, as Chief Editor in J&K Cultural Academy he edited the 'Dogri – Dogri Dictionary′. He died on 8 March 2009, in Jemmu.

Books

* ''Dharti Da Rin'' * ''Badnami Di Chhan'' (1976) * ''Talkhiyan'' * ''Kalamkaar Charan Singh'' * ''Naman Gran- Dogri Play'' (with co-authors Dinu Bhai Pant and Ram Kumar Abrol) * ''Bawa Jitto'' * ''Jhakdian Kiran'' * ''Duggar De Lok Nayak''

Translations

* Six Upanishads * Bhartrharis's NEETI SHATAK * Shudraka's Mricchakatikam (1989) * Four short plays of BHASA * Rabindranath Tagore's

Gitanjali __NOTOC__ ''Gitanjali'' () is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, for its English translation, '' Song Offerings'', making him the first non-European and the fi ...

, Balidan, Malini and Dakghar * Mahatama Gandhi's autobiography –My experiments with Truth * Vinoda Bhave's Gita Pravachan * C.Rajagopalachari's Ramayana * Dharamveer Bharati's ''Andha Yug'' * Gorki's Lower Depths

Honors and awards

* 2001—59th Sahitya Akademi Fellowship-highest literary honour conferred by the Government of India for his contribution to Dogri Language * 1990—

Award, India's fourth highest civilian honour for Literature & Education * 1994— D.Litt. (Honoris Causa) from

* 1977—

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for his short story collection – ''Badnami Di Chaan'' * 1991—State Akademi Award for the collection of Dogri gazals – TALKHIYAN * 1989—

Translation Prize in 1989 for the Dogri Translation of the Sanskrit Drama, '' Mrichakatika'' as ''Mitti Di Gaddi''. * 1981—State Academy Award for his Dogri prose work – ''Duggar De Lok Nayak''.

References

External links

seminar on life of Prof. Ram Nath Shastri commences, December 9, 2010Two decades of Dogri literature --- Shivanath
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shastri, Ramnath 1914 births 2009 deaths Dogri language Indian male short story writers Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Dogri Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship Translators from Sanskrit People from Reasi district 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian translators 20th-century Indian short story writers Poets from Jammu and Kashmir Indian male poets 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Indian male dramatists and playwrights Dramatists and playwrights from Jammu and Kashmir 20th-century Indian male writers Academic staff of the University of Jammu